Why Do Piercings Hurt In The Cold
There are two reasons why people tend to feel an increased amount of pain in their piercings in cold weather. Firstly, the reduced moisture in the air and the skin tends to pull the freshly formed skin crust in the vicinity of the piercing wound, which causes irritation and pain. The second reason has to do with the jewelry dissipating the heat from the wound, making it hurt.
On the latter reason, metal Jewelry in the piercing tends to dissipate heat and make the piecing wound colder. This is why it is recommended that plastic or silicone jewelry must be worn instead of metal jewelry, in piercings during winters.
What Does A Severe Ear Piercing Infection Look Like
Your infection is bad if you have these symptoms:
- Severe redness
- Abscess formation
- Fever
If the skin around your piercing becomes red and tender and you have a fever greater than 100.4 degrees, you may be dealing with cellulitis, a common and potentially serious bacterial skin infection, and you’ll want to get yourself to a doc right away.
Of course, you can also have an allergy to the hardware in your ear and that can look like an infection. But unfortunately, it can be tough for non-doctors to figure out the difference, Dr. Mankarious says. “Professionals often think of allergies based on a history of allergies to metals as well as a lack of response to antibiotic treatment,” she says. So if you’re unsure, it’s best to see a doc.
Why Are Cartilage Piercings Riskier
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If your pierced cartilage gets infected, ensure you get it treated as soon as possible since according to nhs.uk, this piercing is riskier than earlobe piercings. If the site becomes infected, you may develop a painful abscess. This is because the skin is close to the underlying cartilage and pus can become trapped.
In case your cartilage has developed an abscess, you need to go for surgery to remove it since antibiotics might not be of much help. Such surgical procedures require removal of the affected cartilage. This is likely to deform your ears.
Other risks associated with piercing on the ear cartilages include
- Hypertonic scarring
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Recognizing Signs Of Infection
How Do Ear Piercings Even Get Infected
Anyone can get an infected ear piercing, but it usually happens due to one of two major reasons. Either your piercing site wasnt adequately sterilized before you were pierced, or you kinda-sorta-definitely didnt take great care of it after you were pierced, explains Kenneth A. Kaplan, MD, an otolaryngologist with ENT and Allergy Associates in New Jersey.
Touching your piercing a lot, while it’s still a new, open wound, can also expose it to bacteria that can cause an infection.
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Causes Of Infections Later After The Pierced Ear Has Healed
- Not cleaning the earrings and posts daily
- Touching earrings with dirty hands
- Earring backs that are too tight against the earlobe. Reason: pressure from tight earrings reduces blood flow to the earlobe.
- Not taking the earrings out at night
- Anything that causes a scratch or tear in the ear channel. Examples are a heavy earring or a rough area on the post. Reason: any break in the skin can become infected.
- Putting the post in at the wrong angle also can scratch the channel. Use a mirror until putting the earring in becomes routine.
- Posts that have nickel in them can also cause an itchy, allergic reaction
Why Cartilage Infections Are Harder To Treat
Interviewer:
Dr. Madsen:
So if someone comes into the ER and they’ve got ear pain and ear swelling, and then I push on the bones behind the ear, kind of at the base of the skull there, and they’re really tender there, that can be a very serious thing too. And that, typically, requires IV antibiotics, sometimes even surgery.
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Is It Possible For Piercings To Never Heal
Healing is a natural phenomenon of the body and hence any piercing that you get done on your body, should eventually heal. However, it may seem like a piercing is not healing or will never heal. This may be either because you did not give it the proper cleaning or care, a medical condition you may have, or the sensitivity to a certain kind of jewelry that you have been putting on. Many experts also feel that piercings done by a piercing gun rather than a piercing needle can take longer to heal, and feel like it isnt healing at all.
A friend of mine recommended that using this witch hazel spray once in 24 hours helps with the healing and pain associated with healing. You can check out this product here.
What Antibiotics Treat An Infected Ear Piercing
The best antibiotics for treating auricular cartilage infections caused by piercings should be fluoroquinolones . Furthermore, there is a bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa that causes disease from ear piercings, so you should take an antibiotic to fight it, such as Ciprofloxacin or Levofloxacin.
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How To Prevent Helix Ear Piercings From Getting Infected
As we said above, the first stage of helix piercing infection prevention is going to a certified and well-reviewed piercing studio. However, there are other things you can do to help ensure the healing process goes smoothly :
Now you know how to heal a helix ear piercing specifically, you can learn some more general piercing care with our guide to treating an infected ear piercing.
If you want to read similar articles to How to Treat an Infected Helix Ear Piercing, we recommend you visit our Beauty & Personal Care category.
Can Ear Piercings Heal Within 3 Weeks
Ear piercings can be either done on the earlobe, or inside the ear , and neither of them can completely heal in a 2-3 weeks period. The recommended average time to wait for your ear or any other piercing to heal is 6-8 weeks. If however you are thinking if a pierced hole would close in 2-3 weeks, then wearing no earring in and putting a band aid on it can speed things up and help you close the piercing hole within 3 weeks, for most people.
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What Are The Causes Of Infected Ear Piercing
New ear piercing is like an open wound. If bacteria get in contact with your new ear piercing, your ear piercing will get infected. Here are some rare causes of infected ear piercing.
- Piercing is done in an unclean environment or with unsterilized equipment.
- Touch dirty hands to your ears
- Earrings removed before healing the piercing
- Not taking care of the cleaning of your ear piercing
- Make your ear piercing in contact with water.
Can I Pierce My Nose If I Have A Cold
Getting a piercing done, when you have a cold, is generally not a great idea. This is because your post piercing period needs a lot of immunity and healing power to be concentrated on the body part being healed, which would be compromised when you have cold. An additional issue specific to nose piercing is the probability of phlegm or cough clogging your nose, which can be harmful to your piercing, both when wet and dry. Wet mucus can stop the free passage of air around the piercing wound and the dry crusting increases the chances of bacterial build up in the vicinity of the wound.
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What’s The Healing Time
There are different types of tissue in different parts of your ear, so how long it takes to heal depends on your body and the place you’ve pierced.
Earlobes usually take 6-8 weeks. If you pierce the cartilage on the side of your ear, it can take 4 months to a year. Ask your piercing professional for an estimate.
Continued
How To Treat An Infected Ear Piercing
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Overview
When you get your ears pierced whether at a tattoo parlor or a kiosk in the mall you should receive instructions on how to prevent an infection. The vendor should also assure you that they only use sterile tools and hygienic practices.
But if protocol isnt followed, or if you dont carefully follow the post-piercing care instructions, infection can occur. You can usually treat a minor piercing infection of the earlobe fairly easily and without complications.
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How To Treat Infected Ear Piercings: A Dermatologist Explains
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When you have an infected piercing, your first thought might be to take your jewelry out. While that might seem like the best thing to do, it’s best to leave this to your doctor. If your piercing is actually infected, and you remove the jewelry on your own, the bacteria and pus can get locked inside if the hole closes up. Instead, see a dermatologist, who will likely swab the area for a culture and start a course of topical and/or oral antibiotics to treat the infected skin piercing. Your derm will likely also want to monitor the area for potential abscess formation throughout your treatment plan. To learn more, we spoke to two dermatologists, Y. Claire Chang, and Alicia Zalka.
Meet the Expert
- Y. Claire Chang, MD, is a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist at Union Square Laser Dermatology in Manhattan.
- Alicia Zalka, MD, is a board-certified dermatologist and an Assistant Clinical Professor of Dermatology at Yale. She also is the founder of Surface Deep.
Mild infections can be treated easily enough at home. If it’s just a little irritated, slightly red or warm, you can try a few things to clear it up on your own:
Always Wash Your Hands
Although this is common knowledge when dealing with piercings on the body, many people rarely follow this advice.
When you fiddle with the cartilage piercing without having washed your hands, you increase the chances of transmitting germs that can cause an infection to the piercing.
You, therefore need to ensure that you always wash your hands using a liquid antibacterial soap, accompanied by hot water to ensure that you will not get an infected cartilage piercing.
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What Causes A Cartilage Piercing Bump
One of the primary reasons why the infected cartilage piercing has developed a bubble is because it was handled in a rough manner, and no aftercare was practiced at all.
Additional causes may include wearing jewelry made from incorrect materials, using materials that have not been sterilized, or incorrect handling by the professional performing the piercing.
The formation of a bump is often viewed as part of the healing process associated with cartilage piercings. When you practice proper aftercare, it may be possible for you to avoid it all together.
How Are Infected Ear Piercings Treated
Your healthcare provider may recommend a variety of treatments to help an infected ear piercing heal. These may include:
- Applying a warm compress to the infected earlobe or cartilage.
- Rinsing the infected earlobe with sterile saline.
- Using antibiotic ointment on the affected area.
- Taking oral antibiotics for more severe infections.
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Baby Ear Piercing Infection And Risks
Does your babys ear-piercing appear to be infected? The once admirable pierced earlobes of baby daughter with cute looks may end up regret if you do not consider the factors before getting childrens ear pierced. This implies that if you rush into making quick decisions to pierce your child is very risky.
Basing on the fact that infants still have developing immune systems, Wendy Sue Swanson, M.D., strongly encourages parents to be patient until their babies have reached 6 months or older prior to piercing plans.
In addition, young children have juvenile and poor judgments which may make them begin to pull the piercing jewelry earrings or bars. Doing so repeatedly and traumatizing the area greatly increases the chances that a person will develop keloids, Dr. Murase warns.
Causes And Risk Factors
It is important to be extra careful when handling a new piercing. If bacteria get into a newpiercing, it can cause infection. Other causes include:
- Removing the earrings before the piercing heals
- Touching the ears with dirty hands
- Putting your head in a pool, river, lake, or hot tub before the piercing is healed
- Forgetting to clean the new piercings twice daily as recommended by a professional
- Getting the ears pierced with equipment that is not sterilized or in a place that is not properly cleaned or set up for ear piercing
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Causes Of Ear Piercing Infection
Developing into an infection, any bacteria left to fester is a detriment. You can introduce an infection simply by touching your piercing with dirty hands or instruments. Not allowing room for the wound to breathe and heal, an infection can develop in the event the earrings are on too tightly. Should there be too much handling of the piercing or the post of the earring is rough, a piercing can also get infected. If the person piercing your ears didnt use gloves, or if the posts themselves werent sterile an infection can also occur if unsterile instruments were used.
Reasons For Ear Piercing Infection
Infection of the wounds usually happens with the fresh and newly done piercing within a few days after the piercing. It takes about 4 weeks or a little more to cure the open wounds on the ear entirely.
Besides infections, several other complications might occur after ear piercing. A study conducted by Biggar and Haughie has found the following complication frequencies in 497 female patients: redness and swelling , drainage , infection , bleeding , cyst formation , large scars , and trauma or tear .
There are several ways an infection after ear piercing can happen. Usually, it is the bacterial infection that makes the piercing wounds go bad and cause trouble to the ear. Bacterial infection can occur from the improper initial piercing technique or poor hygiene .
Let us look at some of the reasons that aggravate the infectious conditions:
- Use of unsterilized piercing instruments and posts
- Traumatic tearing of pierced tunnel
- Presence of a foreign body in the fresh opening on skin and earlobes
- Frequent touching of the pierced area with fingers
- Wearing tight or large earrings that hurt the earlobes
- Using poor quality earrings and studs
- Forceful insertion of ear studs in a fresh piercing
- Persons with any immune-compromised state
- Preexisting deformity at the piercing site, such as psoriasis or dermatitis
- Presence of skin pathogens such as streptococcal species and staphylococcal species in the piercing area
- Allergic reactions to certain metals like nickel
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This Is *exactly* What To Do & What To Avoid If Your Ear Piercing Gets Infected
Sure, ear piercings come with a certain level of discomfort , but as a professional piercer once told me: The puncture step is only the first part of the battle the after care is where the real work begins. Case in point? Infected ear piercings.
Theyre totally commonan ear piercing is an open wound, after all, and the site can be pretty temperamental as it healsbut you can treat a mild case at home. If you wake up to a throbbing, itchy, or, uh, crusty ear, check out these expert dos and donts to heal the area safely. Youll be showing off your ear candy in no time.
Who Should Do The Piercing
Only a professional. Some pediatricians do piercings on young children.
Make sure you do research on ear piercing professionals beforehand. Ask people you trust for recommendations, and visit a few piercers to get a feel for the place and person.
Some “positives” to look for:
- A clean studio with good lighting
- A selection of hypoallergenic jewelry
Ask these questions:
- Do you wear disposable gloves?
- What equipment do you use?
- How do you sterilize it?
Avoid any place where they sterilize equipment in the studio’s public bathroom.
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